I used to smoke on a barrel style grill with the meat on one side and the fire on the other. I went to a ceramic grill over a year ago and I struggle at the vertical smoking until I used a heat deflector. I took some leftover red oak solid flooring (unfinished of course), cut to size and snapped together to create a heat deflector that added a little oak to the flavor as well. It's taken me well over a year, but I now prefer the ceramic grill over my old traditional barrel style...but I really, really miss my cast iron grates.Smoked up a butt this weekend for my neighbors 70th, while this Pit Barrel runs a little hotter than I like (still tweaking) I should be able to get it down to 250 range maybe lower (usually runs around 275 which is out of the low and slow range).
It sounds like success on the first try for you, keep it up.